Patrick Mayhew

Patrick Mayhew (11 September 1929-25 June 2016) was Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 10 April 1992 to 2 May 1997, succeeding Peter Brooke and preceding Mo Mowlam.

Biography
Patrick Mayhew was born on 11 September 1929, and he became a lawyer in 1955 after graduating from Oxford University. In February 1974, he was elected to Parliament as an MP from Tunbridge Wells, representing the UK Conservative Party; he stood down in the 1997 election after 23 years as MP. From 1979 to 1981, he served as Under Secretary of Employment, and Prime Minister John Major appointed him as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in 1992. Mayhew held this post for five years, the longest tenure of any person in that post, and he was elevated to the House of Lords in 1997. In 2015, he retired from the House of Lords, and he died on 25 June 2016 at the age of 86.